That is pretty funny. Iodine pills are only much use for people living closer because the risk is from radioactive iodine which has a short half life. It is also much more of a consideration for kids as their thyroids are very active. You may know all this.

Millisieverts are a thousand times more powerful than micros. I was hearing 8000 microsieverts before and am now hearing 400 millisieverts.

I don't really believe that's terribly alarming amounts yet.

IIRC, a typical medical x-ray can be up to 900 mSv (milli), so that's less than half a chest X-ray per hour - of course the exposure does add up.

As for all of this significantly affecting the environment, about the only way that will happen is with a full blown meltdown of the core, and then only if it escapes the containment tomb. Containment systems are built with this in mind, the unknown of course being they've never been tested yet.

The core itself won't explode, the issue there is pressure building up and hydrogen igniting.

Otherwise the amounts of radiation released should dissipate quickly.

My dad had to spend several weeks a year at our Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant when he worked for the electric company. I went down there a lot, the guys that worked there loved to show me around and teach me about it. He's got pics of himself in the reactor building. I remember the control room was pretty overwhelming.

I don't I'll be posting here like I was but what we know has evolved considerably since what I see posted here by myself and others. Very possible cracks, very possible core meltdowns of 70% and 30%. Just measuring the radiation level is not enough, it is what particles are emitting the radiation. Some of them are radioactive for 200 years, some stay in the body for up to 30. I see no reason to downplay much at this point. It is the general opinion it is a six on the nuclear accident scale. Chernobyl was 7, Three Mile was 4 or 5.

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